Thanks to a long string of legal problems, including a felony arrest last fall on charges of illegally attempting to purchase machine guns and silencers, Grammy-winning rapper T.I. will not be able to vote in the upcoming elections.
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So it was somewhat incongruous that he joined forces with the Hip Hop Caucus on Monday morning at the 9:30 Club to launch the “Respect My Vote” campaign, which aims to mobilize to the polls those voters who are 18 to 29 but not in college.
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But to hear him tell it, the two actions are strongly related. “I actually physically went out in 2000, Bush versus Gore, and tried to vote, but that’s when I found out I couldn’t vote because I had a felony,” T.I. told a packed house. “Then in 2004 I still couldn’t vote, but this time I thought ahead and thought, ‘Well, I know I am not going to be able to vote myself, so what can I do to offset my minus one?’ What I thought I could do to offset my minus one and me not being able to actually get in there and cast my own vote was to encourage others to go and vote.”
He also instructed those in the crowd that you’re able to re-register once you’re out of the criminal justice system.
While admitting that he supports Barack Obama, he emphasized it was not the reason for his appearance. “Barack Obama represents change, diversity, intelligence and character,” T.I. said. “I think that he represents the people, not just black people. Not just white people. … If you feel [John] McCain is the man for you, then go vote for McCain. Whoever you vote for, just be sure you become part of that process.
“If you are not voting, if you are not a part of that process, then you at that time give up your right to complain. You can’t complain about how unfair the laws are or that there are no jobs for us or that gas is so high. You need to be out there trying to help yourself, and the way you do that is you vote. If you are not doing that, then you are just sitting around complaining, and that is not a good look for anybody.”
